Donald Trump has complained that a “stupid” lawsuit forced him to reveal plans to build a top-secret military base underneath his White House ballroom.
The 79-year-old president was defending his $400 million vanity project while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, after a New York Times article over the weekend exposed the shoddy nature of its construction and design.
While holding comically large placards detailing how the completed ballroom might look, Trump also gave updates on what is being built beneath the area where the White House East Wing once stood.
“The military is building a big complex under the ballroom, which has come out recently because of a stupid lawsuit that was filed,” he said.
“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed [shield] for what’s being built under the military, including from drones, and including from any other thing,” Trump added. “The glass, or the windows, you see the big windows, the glass is extremely thick. It’s high-grade bulletproof glass, so all of the windows are bulletproof.”
The ballroom is being funded thanks to donations from Donald Trump’s billionaire friends.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The lawsuit Trump referenced was filed in December 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is asking a federal judge to halt construction of the ballroom until it undergoes multiple independent reviews, passes environmental assessments, and receives approval from Congress.
A federal judge said he will rule by the end of March on whether to issue an injunction stopping construction of the project pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
Trump also lashed out at the lawsuit for forcing the administration to reveal its plans to build an underground military bunker beneath the ballroom in a typically unhinged Truth Social post in January.
“It is being done with the design, consent, and approval of the highest levels of the United States Military and Secret Service. The mere bringing of this ridiculous lawsuit has already, unfortunately, exposed this heretofore top secret fact,” Trump wrote.
An underground bomb shelter beneath the old East Wing, built during World War II, was demolished in October to make way for Trump’s ballroom.
A rendition of how the ballroom might look when it is eventually completed.White House
The vanity project is being built as tens of millions of Americans suffer through a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by Trump’s war on Iran.
On Sunday, the Times reported that multiple experts also condemned the proposed design of the mammoth building, noting that it includes a staircase that doesn’t lead anywhere, columns that will block the view of its windows, and the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that is “unnecessarily” large.
Donald Trump updated reporters about his vanity project before discussing the war on Iran.Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at the report and accused it of being written by “three random people who have ‘studied fine arts’ and ‘long written about urban planning.’”
“President Trump and his lead architect have built world-class buildings around the world, and they are ensuring the People’s House finally has a beautiful ballroom that’s been needed for decades—at no expense to the taxpayer,” Leavitt posted on X.
Restore the White House, and send the bill to Trump
Suppose I bulldozed somebody’s house, without his or her permission.
Hopefully I would be given due process, but if found guilty, part of my punishment would be to make restitution to the owner of the house. The atrocity that Donald Trump has perpetuated on the White House, which is “the people’s house,” not his, should not stand.
Any continuation of this project should cease immediately. This proposed vulgar, grandiose ballroom overwhelms the elegant but intentionally modest structure of the original building, and is an inappropriate symbol of a monarch, rather than a democracy, which this country hopes to remain. The only correct solution is to abandon this outlandish project and restore the White House to its previous condition.
This task should be taken on by those experts responsible for the preservation, renovation and restoration of historic government buildings. To those who believe that such a restoration would be impossible, I cite the restored Notre Dame Cathedral. Restitution for this crime should be borne by the perpetrator, Donald Trump. Returning the White House to its previous condition would symbolize our recommitment to the preservation of our nation as a democracy.
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